Grand Slam agony for Anderson

Sunday, 19 November 2017 22:49:13 Europe/London

He lost the most dramatic semi-final in the history of the Grand Slam as he was beaten 16-15 by Peter Wright.

The only time Wright was ahead in the entire match was when he landed the winning D16.

Anderson will be heartbroken. He had played beautifully in the semi-final but the Unicorn man threw away a 13-7 lead.

The tournament was won by Michael van Gerwen for a third consecutive year. He beat Wright 16-12 in a terrific final.

Wright took out 156 and 149 to lead 10-9 but when he missed two darts to edge ahead again at 11-10, Van Gerwen stepped in to take control.

But Anderson should have been in the final.

The Unicorn ace produced a golden run from 6-4 ahead. Anderson had missed a dart at 'tops' for 7-3 but then proceeded to win seven out of the next ten legs to take control at 13 legs to 7...... he was coasting having hit seven 180s and taken out 110 and 119.

It was surely all over......Wright needed a darting miracle and that is exactly what happened. Anderson missed one dart for a 14-7 advantage. At the time, it didn't appear to matter but it came back to haunt the Scot.

Wright won the 23rd leg despite another Anderson 180 and the next leg proved to be crucial. Gary was sat on tops and Wright nailed 84 on the bull.

The pressure was building. Wright had changed his darts and got a second wind. A 10th 180 did take Anderson to within one leg of victory and then dramatically he missed one dart for the match as he wired D7 for a 134 check-out.

Wright somehow forced the decider and despite an 11th Anderson 180, 'Snakebite' pinched the dramatic win. He had won eight legs out of nine to stun the Unicorn man.

Gary seemed to be struggling with a back problem in the second half of the semi-final, so will be getting treatment during the week.

Anderson has to dust himself down and look ahead to the Players Championship Finals next weekend in Minehead. But he will know he has missed a golden opportunity to win the Grand Slam for the first time.